Of Squibble Berries and Olives
by Marie The Crocheter
Summary: Direct sequel to Angelpi and Qasalan Coffee. Life in the Faerieland Guards isn't as rosy as one might think, especially when a guard named Eselde has it out for Brynn. Hanso, of course, will make sure that Eselde gets what's coming to her! Finished!
1. Chapter 1: An Evening in Faerieland

So, just a few things:

**Original Charaters:** None of the OCs are based on my own pets. They're just names and species that I chose because I either liked them or thought they fit the character. **Eselde** is a faerie poogle and looks just like a normal faerie poogle with dark purple hair that naturally curls into cute ringlets. Her uniform is nearly identical to Brynn's, although she doesn't wear as much armour. Her adorable appearance doesn't match with her rude personality, obviously. She doesn't appear until later, but** Ileana** is the same young faerie ixi who appeared in my previous story. I'll say more on her when she appears. I hope that my canon characters are more or less in-character. Brynn seems to be the one who gives me a greater challenge, but anything she does that's OoC might be due to shifting hormones, huh? They sure can make us ladies act crazy sometimes.

**Faerieland Guard:** Or Queen Fyora's Guard. Brynn has been described as belonging to both, so I assume they're the same. In my mind, it's made up of both faeries and neopets, and most of the neopets who belong to it are faerie neopets who were born and raised in Faerieland. I figured that a handful of them probably aren't too happy about a non-faerie foreigner being appointed to Captain of the Guard, and that's actually where the whole idea for this story came from. When they're not on a mission, Brynn has normal guard duties, and Hanso sometimes joins her, but he actually spends most of his time wandering around trying to keep his skills sharp (and sometimes getting into trouble in the process).

**Other:** I have a nasty tendency to do a lot of my writing between midnight and 3AM for some reason. That wouldn't be so bad, but for some really stupid reason I do much of my proofreading and editing during that time, too. And if I'm not working on this in the middle of the night, I'm often working on it when I'm light headed and dizzy due to natural causes or sleep deprivation. I, uh...suppose I should work on my timing and all. And maybe get a bit more sleep, huh? That's kind important. Anyway, I tried really hard to rid this of as many typos, errors, and needlessly ultra-complex sentence structures as I could, but that's not entirely possible. Still, before I submit this to the NT, I'll give it a thorough combing! I'll need to do some minor alterations to make it NT appropriate, anyway. I also wrote this story so that it could be easily divided into chapters (yay!), and I'm also trying to name the chapters. Naming them is hard.

**Random:** I support **Shenkuu** for the AC! Not that that has to do with anything. Just wanted to say it. I am thoroughly enjoying the pre-game chat, and all the people freaking out about the minor details. It's strangely amusing.

* * *

**Chapter 1: An Evening in Faerieland.**

* * *

Just ten more feet, and...perfect!

Hanso peeked over the windowsill, and when he was certain the coast was clear, hoisted himself up and climbed through the window. This was his fourth window today, and no one had yet seen him as far as he knew. Clearly, he was still on top of his game. Now he just had to make his way back down to the main hall, and—

Something cold and sharp suddenly jabbed into his back. He automatically raised his arms, fearing for a split second that he was under arrest. Of course, _that_ wasn't possible, so he quickly banished the thought. The voice that accompanied the spear was equally cold and sharp: "_What_ in the name of our great Queen Fyora do you think you're _doing_?"

Oh, no. Not her. Not _again._ How had she found him? The coast had been clear! Hanso tried to keep his cool and sound as nonchalant as he could. "Working my way down to the main hall on the ground floor, what else?"

"By entering a _window_ in a corridor on the _fifth _floor?"

"...I took a little detour?"

"Honestly, Hanso, why do you keep doing this? Just how stupid are you?"

Hanso let out an exasperated sigh and put his hands down as he turned around to face the guard who had caught him. "Because I'm bored, Eselde. Why do I do _anything?_"

"...You need to come up with a better response. That's what you _always _say," the faerie poogle grumbled, lowering her spear. "Why can't you just be like everyone else and use that thing called a 'door' when you want to enter a room?"

"Because I'm not like everyone else," he argued. "Doors are so predictable and boring."

"Really? Maybe you won't think so if I actually _use_ this next time," Eselde snapped, holding up her spear.

"Yeah, if you're gonna do that, why don't you go ahead and start thinking of an explanation to give to the queen? You'd need a heck of a good one. Oh, and I'm certain Brynn would kill you. So you might want to be careful."

"Why you...!" Eselde sputtered and trembled with anger, but was apparently unable to think of anything else to say, for she spun around on her heel and stormed off, leaving Hanso a little confused and very relieved. What, exactly, was Eselde's problem?

It had been three weeks since he and Brynn had returned from their little adventure in Qasala. Hanso was now certain that Queen Fyora had a dark side to her, as she had not at all scolded Hanso on his tactics, even after it became clear that he had outright stolen the dangerous scroll from Qasala's powerful and definitely not evil (or so she claimed) king. Both he and Brynn were able to keep their jobs as artefact hunters, and were awaiting their next mission.

For Brynn, there was _plenty_ to do during the wait. Faerieland wasn't as grand as it once was, but it was a very busy place. Due to its new easily accessible location on the ground, there were more thieves and ruffians about. Brynn was on guard duty much of the time, usually taking at least one shift a day (although Hanso had sometimes managed to convince her to take a day off so that they could go sightseeing or just relax around the castle). Hanso occasionally joined her on her shift, although things always seemed to go wrong when he was around. He had a lot of not-so-secret admirers, even within the guard. Non-faerie male neopets were apparently something of a rarity in Faerie City, and he was also celebrated as a hero, which just made him all the more attractive, he supposed. Most of the ladies weren't so bad, but there were a handful of guards who seemed determined to catch his eye and draw him away from Brynn. There was _no chance at all_ of that ever happening, but Brynn would always get extremely flustered and annoyed (which Hanso thought was adorable, but that was not a good emotional state for someone who was on guard duty), and Brynn would have to hastily reassign certain guards to other locations just to get them to go away.

And then there were some like Eselde: hateful, spiteful, irritated by anything and everything either Hanso _or _Brynn did, overly critical, jealous...actually, that really only summed up Eselde. No other guard was quite on her level. Though she certainly wasn't kind to Hanso, she tended to be even _worse_ to Brynn, insisting that the non-faerie Brynn had no place in Queen Fyora's guard, regardless of how heroic Brynn had proved to be. How Eselde managed to keep her job while having a volcano-like disposition was beyond Hanso, but he figured it was the reason why she was one of the few who hadn't gotten any kind of promotion the entire time he and Brynn had lived in Faerieland. Brynn claimed that Eselde was a very good fighter (which was certainly believable) and extremely observant. That latter trait of hers had to explain why she seemed to be the only one (besides Brynn) who could catch Hanso when he was sneaking around like this. He knew that Brynn didn't like his habit of creeping along corridors, scaling the castle's walls and climbing through windows, but he figured this would be a good way to keep his senses sharp. What good would he be if he lost his amazing ability to move around undetected, huh?

He gradually made his way to the castle's main entrance, where Brynn was waiting for him. She was standing with her arms crossed, leaning against a wall and staring at something up in a nearby tree, wearing her usual dark dusty pink tunic and grey pants. She wasn't wearing her armour, helmet or sword, which was good. That meant that she was indeed off duty.

She spotted him and waved. "Hanso! There you are! I've been waiting for ten minutes. Where were you?"

"I ran into Eselde," he said. "Are you ready?"

"I am." She held up her...knapsack, which was definitely not a purse. "I'm paying this time, OK?"

Hanso rolled his eyes. He and Brynn had decided months ago that they would pool their funds together (it was just easier that way, and he had a feeling that Brynn wanted to keep an eye on his income), but Brynn still insisted that she had main control over their money. He didn't really mind, but couldn't shake the feeling that she still didn't entirely trust him with their neopoints. "OK, fine, this time. Just this time, mind you. It's my responsibility!"

"No, I'm the one everyone trusts," Brynn pointed out. She linked her arm through his. "Let's go!"

* * *

They had a nice afternoon walking through Faerie City, first stopping to order a number of books for the castle's library (the reason why Brynn made sure they had plenty of money), and then headed outside of the city to chat with the faerie who ran the healing springs. Two days ago, after a long storytelling session with a group of young faerie neopets, the children had gone off to visit with the faerie, and Brynn wanted to make sure they hadn't caused any trouble. The faerie assured Brynn that the children were no trouble at all (they were nothing compared to a certain lutari who had visited a few times, though the faerie did not wish to talk about that), and then invited them to drink some tea. Hanso didn't mind the chit-chat that much, but he _did_ wish that he and Brynn could have a bit more privacy; after all, this _was_ supposed to be a date, more or less...

Once they were finally able to head back toward Faerie City, it was early evening, and Hanso suggested that they stop and get something to eat at the food shop. They would miss dinner at the castle, so why not just buy some food to bring back to their chambers?

"I'm surprised. I thought for sure you'd ask Rosalie to prepare something when we got back," Brynn said as they entered Faerie City's food store. They didn't have long; the store would be closing shortly.

"I thought about it, but there _are_ a few faerie foods I like. Just...not the ones with wings."

Brynn chuckled. "Fair enough. So, let's see... What do they have in salads?" She wandered off to go look at something.

The store was fairly crowded, probably because it would be closing shortly and many, like Hanso and Brynn, were purchasing food to take home for dinner. Hanso noticed that they had a few crazy crisp tacos in stock, which was great because those were one of his favourite faerie foods. The shell never got soggy, and the fillings never fell out. Plus, they were flavourful without being excessively spicy!

Before he could grab one, he heard a choked gasp or cry of surprise that sounded like it came from Brynn. Alarmed, he glanced around and saw she was standing by the salads, so he quickly stepped over to see what was wrong. She was staring at something, and as soon as Hanso followed her gaze, he immediately knew what it was.

"Whoah...I've never seen that here." Hanso wrapped an arm around her shoulders and whispered, "You probably shouldn't stare like that. People are going to think you're crazy, sweetie."

"Sorry, I just...ugh, bad memories." Brynn shook her head. "I _hate_ squibble berries, and I've never seen squibble berry salad here. It's just...look! The berries are _fresh_!" She pointed to the salad, which had chopped bits of berry that were indeed wriggling. Would they work their way off the plate? "Who would buy that? That's just gross!"

"Haha, now you know why I'm creeped out by the food with wings, huh?"

"I am not _touching_ those," she hissed. "They're slimy and the insides wiggle like worms! They're disgusting!"

"I know, I know, why don't you just look for something else, huh?" Hanso asked, trying to pull her away.

"They're not a faerie food! What are they doing here?"

"Maybe some prankster from Brightvale sent some squibble berries here? It's not as far-fetched as Jazan getting that angelpuss from—"

"Okay, okay, I get it," Brynn cut him off. "I was just so surprised..."

"Faerieland _is_ close to Brightvale. It's possible. I've seen other foods made from Brightvale fruits."

"Yeah, sorry, that...that was very unprofessional of me," Brynn said, finally allowing Hanso to pull her away. "What are you getting?"

"A couple of tacos. You?"

She exhaled rather hard, almost like a sigh, catching the hair framing her face and blowing it out of her eyes. "A nutty cheese surprise sandwich and a _big_ bag of faerie bubbles," she finally said. "You grab everything and then I'll pay, okay?"

"I'm on it!"

As Brynn was checking out, Hanso noticed Eselde over by the salads, watching them closely, her face something between an intense stare and a smirk. He met her gaze, and she quickly ducked behind a nearby shelf lined with pies. Well, that was odd. Why was she hiding? Hanso debated telling Brynn about it, but figured that's she'd already had enough drama for the day. Eselde wasn't fond of Hanso at all, but she absolutely _hated _Brynn. It might be best if Brynn didn't know she was there...

* * *

_To be continued..._

I figure there's a reason Brynn hates squibble berries, and, in my mind, someone used them to scare her when she was a kid, and she developed a hatred for them or anything food has them as an ingredient.


	2. Chap 2: Berries With a Side Of Trouble

Couple more notes:

**Update:** OK, you may have noticed that this chapter appeared, disappeared, and then reappeared. It's because I made a dumb error when editing and accidentally left in some stuff that I meant to delete. It's, uh, definitely not necessary to keep in multiple paragraphs with almost identical information, right? XD That was an accident.

**Living Arrangements: **In my continuity Hanso and Brynn live in what's essentially a very basic two-bedroom apartment/suite/whatever within the castle, probably near the barracks where the other guards live. Their home consists of a small central chamber (like a living room) with a bedchamber on each side. They haven't really tried to make it very cosy and homey because they're on the road a lot and, well, they don't really strike me as the type to do much decorating! They _do_ each have their own small bathroom, because sharing one would just be awkward.

**Original Characters:** You may recognize Ileana from my TFR story. She's become my favourite, haha. In fact, I am seriously considering making an ixi named after her. **cough** (The name "Ileana" is taken, but I'll find a way to work with that.) It may take me a while to paint her faerie, but that'll be just another goal to work for! Gotta love it when an OC grows on you that much, huh? I'm not entirely sure how old she is, but she's the eldest of the children from the TFR story, and is probably...11 or 12-ish? She's old enough to help in the kitchen, and smart, but not very mature just yet.

**Random:** I had to make up our heroes' likes and dislikes, obviously. Brynn likes fruity taffy, and that's the only official info we have on that. I think I decided that Hanso likes root beer and dislikes strong coffee in a previous story. Why I decided to make Brynn obsessed with faerie bubbles, I have no idea. I guess I'd like to try them myself if I could. They sound good.

Also: Altadorian food = Mediterranean/Ancient Roman food. =P Lots of olives!

Oh, and let me give you the official site description for squibble berries: "_If you cut this fruit open it is full of writhing tentacles." _Sounds lovely. Eew.

I love the thought of someone proposing using candy. I'd accept! (Depending on the guy, of course.)

* * *

**Chapter 2: Berries With a Side Of Trouble**

* * *

His Eselde sighting at the food store suddenly made perfect sense two days later.

At midday, Hanso returned to the suite of chambers that they shared to discover that Brynn was already there. The wall just outside of Brynn's room had a wide ledge underneath it that continued around much of the castle, so he liked to use it as an exit when he was in the mood to sneak around. He wasn't sure what the ledge was actually for (maybe it was just a decoration?), but it was perfect for him! He was expecting to have some kind of adventure this afternoon, when he saw Brynn sitting on the windowsill, staring outdoors, he knew that something was seriously wrong. This had _never_ happened before.

"Hey, didn't expect to see you here!" he said cheerily, trying to hide his surprise. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, I just...wanted a little time to myself," Brynn said with a sigh. She continued to stare out the window. "Why are you here?"

"Uh...same reason, I guess?"

She now turned to look at him, a small, forced smile on her lips. "You guess?"

"Yeah. Something wrong?" he asked, sitting next to her on the windowsill.

She shook her head. "No, I just needed some time alone."

"You needed time alone to sulk?" She glared, but he continued. "Because that's what it looks like you're doing."

"Well, aren't you observant?"

"I try my best. It's _extremely_ obvious, Brynn. What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You know that when a girl says 'nothing' is wrong, she means 'everything,' right?"

"Ugh." Brynn mumbled something and rolled her eyes. "That's the _dumbest_ thing I've ever heard, Hanso."

"You are _so obviously_ trying to cover something up," Hanso insisted. "If you don't tell me, I'll just practice my eavesdropping skills around the castle until I figure it out, so you might as well tell me so that I don't have to go through all that extra effort and risk embarrassing myself."

"No, it's...well, it's so stupid, it really is," Brynn said. "Eselde decided she would try to make me look bad. It really shouldn't bother me so much." She heaved a heavy sigh and turned her gaze back out the window. "I'm mad at myself for letting it bother me, so...that's why I wanted to be alone. I didn't want anyone else to see me like this."

"What did she do?" Hanso asked, his voice soft.

"She brought a basket of squibble berries with her today, and shared them with the other guards. Most of them didn't know what they were, so Eselde asked me to show them how to eat them, since I'm from Brightvale and the berries are a native fruit." She frowned and looked back at Hanso, crossing her arms across her chest as she turned her gaze toward some unknown object in her room. "That didn't work out well. You know how much I hate those things! I tried to keep my cool and refused, so she just went on and on about how I was unworthy to serve the queen if I allowed some berries to scare me. She then cut them up herself and insisted that she is _much_ braver than I."

"...What? She's braver than you because _she can cut up some berries?"_ Hanso was utterly shocked and stared at Brynn in disbelief. Brynn slowly nodded, and Hanso continued. "I knew she could go low, but that's really low! Even I wouldn't go _that_ low! I wonder how fast she would have folded if she had been the one to face Xandra and Oblivion, huh?"

"I think the others were feeling sorry for me, but no one dares to speak up when Eselde is around. I didn't want to make a big deal over it, either. So I just... I just came here when my shift was over."

"...Please remind me why she still has a job here."

Brynn frowned and narrowed her eyes. "Hanso, you're really—"

"I am _dead serious_, Brynn." He scooted a little closer to Brynn, who more or less slumped against him and rested her head on his shoulder. She was clearly more troubled by this than she let on, and she looked absolutely exhausted! She must have been fretting over it more than she was willing to admit, even to herself. "Why does she still work here? Does _anyone_ like her?"

"I don't think she really has any friends," Brynn admitted. "But she's an excellent fighter, very observant and catches lots of thieves and would-be thieves. She's good at her job."

"Still, that doesn't make up for the fact that she's a mean jerk," Hanso pointed out. "I mean, if she was in any other profession, she'd get fired over something like that!"

"Maybe, but I don't have the authority to do that," Brynn protested, sitting up straight as she tried to gather herself back together. "I may be higher in rank than she is, but I'm not her direct commanding officer. I'll just deal with it, Hanso. I was one of the youngest guards in Brightvale _and_ one of the first females to be in the guard there. I'm used to getting picked on."

"That doesn't make it _right,_ Brynn."

"And what do you know about right and wrong, huh?" she shot back. "I am fine, Hanso. I can take care of myself!"

"I think I've learned a bit about right and wrong since I've started working for the queen," he said, fingering the straps on the lockpick set he wore around one wrist. "Sometimes, the difference isn't as clear-cut as you'd think it would be."

"Hanso, just _please _promise you won't do something to humiliate Eselde," Brynn begged, batting his hand away from his lockpick set. "Don't break into her room or anything! I don't want to draw any more attention to this than is necessary!"

"Seriously? You expect me to just let someone humiliate you and not do anything about it?" he asked, genuinely shocked. Not only did he hate seeing Brynn like this, he hadn't done anything that required picking a lock in quite some time, so he was in danger of getting rusty!

"I expect you to take it as an adult. Don't do anything stupid."

"Pfft, I never do anything stupid! All right, won't do anything to Eselde. Or, I'll _try_ not to, at least."

Brynn let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I hope everyone will forget about it in a day or two."

"Well, if my stunt in Qasala proved anything, it's that it's hard to live down stuff like this."

"I really, really hope that's not the case..."

* * *

Unfortunately for Brynn, Hanso was right. No one else may have really cared about the squibble berry incident, but Eselde made sure to keep it fresh in their minds. She particularly wanted to keep it fresh in Brynn's mind, which was the most irritating thing of all.

It was hard for Hanso to resist the urge to break into Eselde's personal chambers and see what kind of dirt he could dig up on her, but he refrained from taking any action out of respect for Brynn. Of course, it's not like he was _obligated_ to act on any dirt he found, but knowing his luck in his dealings with Eselde, she would catch him red-handed in her chambers. He didn't even _want_ to think about the trouble that would cause. Why was she still allowed to work there? Fyora seemed to take her sweet time when dealing with troublemakers; after all, that was how Xandra had managed to destroy Faerieland in the first place.

But, Hanso had other things on his mind, too. A conversation he had with Brynn just a few days ago revealed that she was open to him proposing to her, which had made him feel light-hearted and elated at the time, but the more he thought about it, the more nervous he became. (He should probably just _stop_ thinking about it and just act on it, but he found that impossible.) Brynn was prone to sudden mood swings, so it wouldn't be a shock if she changed her mind. Sure, they'd known each other for years, but they'd really been close friends for just a little over one year. What if she grew tired of him? Hanso knew very little about proposing and marriage and all that, and wasn't even entirely sure how to go about proposing in the first place. He would need some kind of item, right? Some piece of jewelry? A ring? Well, Brynn didn't _wear_ jewelry, period. When she had to dress up, she would often comment that she would never wear rings or earrings because she was afraid of losing them. So she might not be too open to the idea of him proposing with a ring.

And then there was always the possibility that she would propose to him. He was pretty certain that it was traditional for the guy to propose, but, frankly, Brynn had been the one behind a lot of firsts in their relationship. Their first kiss, their first date, it was she who had suggested that they share the same chambers in the castle, etc. She liked to take charge, and he was fine with that for the most part. He didn't really like getting pushed around, but he knew Brynn knew what she was doing. If she proposed, that would completely take away all his worries about what to give her. Yet, that would probably make him look bad. Others might see him as weak and unmanly, and he wasn't! So he should probably take the initiative.

It was just all a big, confusing mess, in Hanso's opinion. He wished he had a mature friend he could talk to about it, but the only person he was comfortable opening up to was Brynn. He had to admit that Queen Fyora would probably be an excellent one to turn to, but she was always so busy and probably wouldn't care much about what was weighing on his mind, anyway. All his other friends were children, and he wasn't too keen on talking to them about it. He wasn't very close to any of their parents.

He should probably just forget about it for now... He had _even more_ things to worry about.

The visit of the royal family of Qasala, for example.

Brynn had mentioned that Jazan and Nabile were going to come visit very soon, and the day of their arrival finally came. Hanso hadn't a clue as to _why_ they were here; was it just some random social call? It seemed a long way to go for a mere social call. Did it have something to do with Altador Cup preparations? That was coming up soon, but Hanso had no idea why they'd be visiting _Faerieland_, unless they were here to laugh at their notoriously bad Yooyuball team. The team wasn't even here at the moment, so that would be impossible. Did they want to see the new partially-rebuilt Faerieland? That was probably it!

There was also a possibility that Jazan was out for revenge against him... Hanso had better watch his back.

"Are you gonna do anything funny to King Jazan this time?" Erik the young faerie bruce asked Hanso the day after the royal entourage from Qasala arrived. He was sitting in the kitchen's cool stone storeroom with Erik and two other faerie neopet children—Ileana the ixi and her little brother Cael the eyrie—where he was certain they'd be safe from any prying Qasalans or annoying Faerieland guards. Brynn was on duty, poor thing. Eselde mocked her about the squibble berry incident every time she saw her, and it was wearing Brynn down. He figured it was time to ask her to take a vacation. Maybe they could go to Kiko Lake or Roo Island for a few days. Maybe he could even iron out some of his proposal difficulties! Would Brynn accept candy jewelry? ...No, that probably wouldn't be a good idea. At any rate, it would make him look terribly cheap.

"Depends on if he does anything to me," he finally said in answer to Erik's question. "I'm more worried about Eselde and what she's up to at the moment." He couldn't help but notice that Ileana was staring at something on the wall to their left, though Hanso hadn't a clue as to what it might be, because he knew even less than Brynn did about cooking. There were lots of dried vegetables and herbs all around them, and barrels full of who-knows-what, since the faeries did not rely on their magic alone to do the cooking and used food imported from other places in Neopia when they wanted to. Hanso couldn't possibly identify any of the raw foodstuffs around them. He knew what kind of dishes he liked and what he didn't like, and that was about it. He didn't even know how to make his favourite dishes. Ileana, on the other hand, probably knew a lot, since her mother was one of the castle's cooks and the young ixi herself frequently helped in the kitchen.

"Look at all those dried peppers," Ileana finally said, pointing to some sort of dried pepper-shaped plant matter that hung on strings on the wall. "I didn't know we were getting those! Why do we have so many peppers?"

"Qasalans like their food hot," Hanso informed her.

"Well, I don't!"

"You don't have to eat the spicy food," Cael told her. "But Mama says you shouldn't be so picky."

"I know what I like and I won't eat anything else," Ileana shot back. "Besides, Mama said we're having Neovian food tonight."

"Neovian food? When the Qasalans are visiting?" Erik asked, confused. Erik was on the pudgy side, so it looked as though he didn't have many problems with being picky, though Hanso had to admit that it seemed odd that a bruce would like spicy food...

"And tomorrow, we're having Altadorian food all day," Ileana continued. "But I don't know about the day after that. Mama said she's never made Qasalan food before, and the faeries who make food through their magic said that spicy food is harder to make. They clearly plan to make _something_ spicy, though." She frowned, staring at what Hanso now knew were dried peppers.

"Aren't we supposed to have Qasalan food when the king and queen of Qasala are here?" Erik asked.

"I'll bet Jazan and Nabile eat more than enough Qasalan food when they're at home," Hanso pointed out. "Qasalan food isn't bad, but it gets boring if it's all you eat day in and day out. Well, it gets as boring as spicy food can get."

"...I guess so," Erik agreed after a moment. "Hey, Cael, wanna go outside and play Defenders of Neopia?"

"Sure! It might be kinda hard to find a place, but I'll bet we can find a spot in back of the castle," Cael said. "Hanso, want to come play with us?"

"No, I'll stay here in the kitchen," Hanso told them. Of course, he actually just wanted to stay somewhere where he had no chance of running into Jazan or Eselde, but he wasn't about to tell the kids that. "I guess I need to be the responsible adult and tell you two to be careful, huh?"

"Ha ha, we will...NOT!" Cael said as he and Erik laughed and then raced out of the kitchen.

"Do you think they'll learn if Erik accidentally pokes Cael in the eye again?" Ileana asked.

"They're boys. Of course they won't," Hanso said with a grin. "I don't know if that was an accident, either."

Ileana giggled. "I don't think it was. What're you going to do now?"

"I don't know," Hanso said with a shrug. "Brynn's shift isn't over for four more hours, and I don't really want to run into, uh...certain neopets right now."

"Eselde?" Ileana guessed.

"Yeah. I guess I mentioned that, didn't I?" he asked with a nervous laugh. "She's a piece of work! She almost reminds me of Xandra in some ways."

She nodded. "Dad was talking about her yesterday. He's her commanding officer, you know. I overheard Dad saying to Mama that if she doesn't stop saying bad things about Captain Brynn, he's going to have to discipline her! I'll bet she's gonna be suspended or something soon."

"Really?" Hanso asked. "That's nice to know, actually."

"I don't like squibble berries, either," she added. "They're creepy."

"Brynn feels the same way, obviously."

"Mama said she's added them to the dislikes list of lots of the guards," she added.

Hanso nodded, then his ears perked up when he fully registered what Ileana had just said. "Wait, Rosalie keeps records of everyone's likes and dislikes?"

"Yeah, she does. She has to! It's important that everyone gets served things they like."

"Hmm..." A plan was beginning to form in Hanso's head, and while it wasn't as devious as the one he'd concocted while in Qasala, it could still have quite the impact. He leaned down and whispered, "Ileana. Does your mother have a file on Eselde?"

Ileana initially looked confused, but then her eyes lit up and her face spread into a grin. "Yes, she does," she whispered back. "Do you want me to go get it?"

"If you don't mind. Just make sure you don't get caught."

Ileana nodded. "I'll be right back," she said softly, and then jumped off the crate she'd been sitting on and bolted out of the storeroom and into the kitchen's library, the room where all the cookbooks were kept and where covered bowls of bread dough were set on every uncovered surface. (Hanso had been confused about the purpose of those bowls, until Brynn had informed him that bread dough needed to rise. She'd then asked him what the heck he was doing in the kitchen library in the first place, to which he didn't have a good answer.) It didn't appear as though Ileana had checked to see if the coast was clear, but then again, she was undoubtedly a very familiar sight there, so anyone who was working wouldn't think twice of seeing her.

Less than five minutes later Ileana returned, a fat notebook tucked under one arm. "Here it is," she said, pulling out the notebook and handing it to Hanso. "Eselde's information is on page 49."

"You sound like you're pretty familiar with this book," Hanso commented as he flipped it open and found the page.

"Yep! I study it all the time, because I'm going to be a cook someday and I need to know what everyone doesn't like or is allergic to," she said proudly. "Your entry is on page 93, by the way. Captain Brynn's is page 94."

"My plan might not work so well if everyone in the kitchen already knows what everyone else hates," Hanso muttered as he looked over Eselde's entry. "But it's worth a look. So... she hates olives—why is that circled and underlined?—mushrooms, tofu, all sorts of jelly, all fish, all crabs, all shellfish...anything that comes from the water, basically."

"That?" Ileana asked with a grin, pointing at the word "olives" on the paper. "Those circles and lines mean that someone made the mistake of serving her olives once, and Eselde got _really_ mad. Guess what you find a lot of in Altadorian food? And guess what we're having tomorrow?"

Hanso looked down at her, not sure if he should be proud or horrified. He chose the former, although he was certain he was _supposed_ to be feeling the latter. "Altadorian food," he repeated. "I remember you mentioned that. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Make sure she gets lots of olives?" Ileana guessed, looking up at Hanso with a wonderfully devilish grin.

"I think I've been a bad influence on you! And that's a good thing," Hanso said as patted Ileana on the head and tousled her purple hair.

"I can change this note about the olives. I doubt anyone would remember that right now, and it's easy to make it look like it was scribbled out because she changed her mind." Ileana grabbed the notebook from him and took the pencil that was inserted into the spine of the notebook. She began scribbling away, although it actually appeared as though she was scribbling out _multiple_ things on Eselde's record...

"Don't breathe a _word_ about this to _anyone_, not even your brother," Hanso warned her as she worked. "It'll be our little secret okay?"

"Don't worry, Hanso. I can keep secrets. Okay, done." Ileana grinned as she admired her handiwork. "Hehehe, this is gonna be great!"

"Shh, keep your voice down!" Hanso looked toward the door, but it appeared that no one had heard her. "So, go put that back, and, uh...I guess I'll be on my way."

"Where are you going?" she asked as she put the pencil back in the spine of the notebook.

"I...don't know," Hanso admitted. "But I'll find something! If anyone asks you, we never spoke, okay?"

"Got it! I won't tell anyone, I swear!" Ileana darted back into the kitchen, again without checking that the coast was clear. Hanso figured that sooner or later he'd have to tell her the benefits of checking beforehand.

Once she was gone, Hanso realized that he'd forgotten to ask her about his or Brynn's files. That could wait for another day, perhaps. He knew Brynn's file would have "squibble berries" under dislikes. That would probably be circled and underlined. What else did she hate? She didn't like spicy foods, like cornupepper and carnapepper, and most Moltaran foods didn't seem to agree with her. It probably had something to do with the lava. She didn't particularly like Qasalan food, either. Brynn was fond of sweet foods, so she probably hadn't developed a taste for spicy things. She liked the food in her native Brightvale, and she liked most foods from Meridell as well. Those were her favourites.

It didn't appear that Ileana was coming back, so Hanso stood and stretched. How long had he been sitting there? The clock on the wall indicated that he'd been in the kitchen for two and a half hours. There were still three and a half hours to go before the end of Brynn's shift! He'd have to find a way to keep occupied until then. Well, he'd think of something...

_To Be Continued..._


	3. Chapter 3: Those Little Black Eyeballs

I gave the Faerieland Guards new uniforms based off the Faerieland Yooyuball team's uniforms! The green and pink/purple/whatever that colour is go together very well.

And...I don't really have any more notes on this chapter because I'm too sleepy and need to practice Yooyuball. I'm glad I have already finished this story; I probably won't get much writing in until the AC ends! I'm still gonna wait a day or two before posting the last chapter, though. =P

I hated black olives when I was little. I honestly thought they were eyeballs. I don't hate them anymore and really like them on pizza and toasted sandwiches. Food fights can be fun!

* * *

**Chapter 3: Those Little Black Eyeballs**

* * *

Hanso rose just before sunup the next day, and even he had to stop and watch the sun rise from his window as soon as he finished dressing. He usually didn't get up until _after_ the sun had risen and was flooding his room with its blinding light, making sleep impossible. Today, though, he stopped and watched as the sun peeked out from the top of the crater, a brilliant orange ball that filled the sky with orange and red light. As the sun rose higher, the sky gradually changed to blue.

"What's the occasion? You're up early!"

Hanso turned to see Brynn standing in the doorway, dressed in her usual—wait a minute! "Whoah, Brynn, new uniform?" he asked.

He'd been expecting to see her usual dark pink and grey outfit, but instead she was wearing a purplish-pink tunic with dark green trim and dark green trousers to match. "Yes, I told you about them, didn't I? We got new uniforms. Faerieland is really embracing everything green lately," she commented, looking down at the tunic.

"If you mentioned it, I must have not been paying attention." He walked over to give it a closer look. She was still wearing the same big grey boots, but those didn't clash too much. "Can I say that I think it's a _huge_ improvement over that last one? You look better in bright colours!"

"Uhm...I wouldn't call this bright. It's a pretty dark green. The pink or purple or whatever that is is rather dark, too."

"It's bright compared to what you used to wear," he pointed out.

"Maybe so... What are you doing up so early?" she asked again. "I just came to get you up."

"I just...got up early. I don't know." He shrugged. "Since when did you come and get me up? I always get up on my own, if you haven't noticed. ...You don't come in to watch me sleep, do you?"

"N-no!" Brynn stammered, flushing. "I wouldn't do anything like that! I usually don't come in to wake you up, and when I do, you-you're just hard to get up, so I give up after a couple of tries and let you sleep in like the lazy bum you are!"

"I am _not_ hard to wake up, Brynn," he said with a hearty laugh as he gave Brynn a friendly pat on the shoulder. "A thief who sleeps soundly won't live too long. You'll have to try better than that, sweetheart. You're a terrible liar."

"Okay, so maybe I just wanted to get you up today to ask you something," she said, completely ignoring everything he'd just said. "Could you go with me on guard duty this morning?"

"Uh...are you sure about that? With Jazan here and all?"

"Yes, I...I would like your company," she admitted. Her head was down, but she was looking directly into his face: a very odd and timid expression for her. Maybe she was still embarrassed? "Would you, please?"

"Uh...sure, I guess. Who are you on duty with?"

"...Eselde."

"What? ...You're kidding, right?" Hanso slapped his hand against his forehead. "Who was the genius who decided to pair you with her?"

"I think it may have been a mistake, but it can't be changed now. Would you please go with me?"

"Yeah, I will," he promised. "I think we're having Altadorian food today! Can't wait to see what breakfast holds for us!"

Brynn looked at him, clearly puzzled, as they left their chambers and headed toward the dining hall. "You seem extremely enthusiastic about the food today."

"I always like trying something new," he said with a grin. "Especially when I kind of already know what it is, haha!"

* * *

To Hanso's amazement (and Brynn's as well, undoubtedly), their morning with Eselde didn't go as badly as he thought it would. Hanso knew he had to be credited with that: instead of allowing Eselde to pick on Brynn, he kept her attention focused on him. It wasn't hard to do. He got Eselde involved in a long, pointless discussion about why altachucks were afraid of things that began with the letter "D," which then led to them trying to list every word they knew of that started with "D." (Of course, Hanso won that contest, though Eselde would beg to differ.) As Eselde was shocked by some of the words in Hanso's far superior vocabulary, she began to (crudely) question the legitimacy of his birth and tried to dig into his past. This was unacceptable, but Hanso managed to make it fun, turning the questions on to her instead and learning much about her in the process. She'd never been to the poogle's native land, Terror Mountain, and Hanso wasn't about to tell her whether or not he was from the ixi's native Meridell. He just let her throw wild guesses, and was surprised by how little Eselde actually knew about the world outside of Faerieland. Eselde did try to drag Brynn into the conversation at one point, asking if she was from Mystery Island and implying something about her being uncivilized and wild, but Hanso immediately put a stop to that by comparing Eselde to a snowbeast, which got a very hilarious (and slightly scary) reaction from the extremely enraged and definitely snowbeast-like poogle.

Eselde left them alone for lunch, and instead of eating there at the castle, Hanso suggested that they go to the food shop, where he insisted that _he_ pay the bill this time. When they got back with Eselde for the afternoon shift (because, somehow, Brynn had been stuck with her for that shift, too), Hanso asked Eselde how lunch had gone, and discovered that Eselde had just taken a pita and eaten it on the run. She then proceeded to continue trying to delve into Hanso's past, and Hanso continued to try to turn the questions back on her, which somehow eventually led to arguments about why Faerieland's Altador Cup team was so lousy, and why Krawk Island was not a good family vacation destination. Eselde thought that all the islands on Neopia were like Roo Island, and Hanso was more than happy to tell her that she was dead wrong and a complete fool for thinking so. A fight would have ensued, had Brynn not demanded at swordpoint that they _both_ learn to grow up and act like mature adults.

Finally, _finally, _the day was over, and it came time for them to part with Eselde—at least, until dinner. (Hanso also made a mental note to have a serious talk with whoever was in charge of the scheduling.) Dinner that night was a formal occasion, and Hanso really wanted both him and Brynn to skip it and relax in their chambers (if anything happened, he knew Ileana would tell him later), but Brynn insisted that it was their duty to dress up and go.

"I should have made sure that this suit was dirty or needed mending or something," Hanso muttered once he was almost ready, wearing a long black dress coat (it was almost like a trenchcoat, only tighter), a grey vest and black slacks. He looked ridiculous, especially with his hair smoothed back and in a tighter-than-normal ponytail. "We're having Altadorian food, right? Why can't I just wear a toga or something? I'll bet I could make a great one out of a bedsheet!"

They were in Brynn's room as Brynn tried to figure out what she should do with her hair. A ponytail wouldn't suffice, and she'd given up on curling all of it, so she was trying to curl a few ringlets around her face. She wasn't doing too well, mostly because she had no idea how to work with curlers. "A toga? I don't think so," she retorted, her attention focused on the mirror in front of her and the curler she was trying to untangle from her reddish-orange hair. "You'd be the laughingstock of the entire city!"

"Hey, why not? I wouldn't mind that at all, and I'll bet it would look better than this mynci suit," Hanso scoffed.

"Ow!" Brynn managed to yank the curler out of her hair and groaned when she saw that instead of curls, she had a big tangled mess. "I give up on this! I guess I'll just brush my hair and be done with it!"

"What about a headband, Brynn?" Hanso suggested. "I think you wore one last time. I thought it looked good."

"Oh, right, I could wear that," she agreed. "You're lucky. You don't have to worry about all this hair nonsense!"

"Maybe, but you're so much nicer to look at," he said, trying to be both smarmy and cautious at the same time, as he wasn't eager to have a hairbrush or something else thrown at him. Brynn didn't always take compliments very well, so he'd learned to be careful about what he said. He _was_ telling the truth, though: Brynn was wearing a lovely blue dress that was neither dull nor bright. It had loose, billowy sleeves that went halfway down her elbow and a moderately tight bodice with a v-shaped neckline that showed off her curvy figure without being revealing. The skirt was full, almost floor-length and rustled with each move she made. It somehow reminded him of an air faerie, so he always thought of it as Brynn's air faerie dress. It would look great with a tiara, though he couldn't imagine Brynn ever wearing one.

Brynn found a blue headband decorated with a few silk daisies and checked it over to make sure it wasn't too dusty or anything. "I guess this will do," she said, putting it on and adjusting it in the mirror. "I hate having my hair fall into my face. Maybe I should just cut it all off..."

"Brynn, it would be terribly awkward if your hair was shorter than mine," Hanso pointed out, joining her in front of the mirror, putting both his hands on her waist and resting his head on her shoulder. "You look great, really."

"Hmph. I'm sure it will take me all of five minutes to spill something on this dress," she muttered, batting him away. She clearly wasn't in a very good mood...or an amorous mood, for that matter. "I can't take my sword with me, either!"

"You'd look really strange wearing that dress with a sword strapped to your back," Hanso told her, though the thought of how she would look almost made him grin. A beautiful, graceful orange kougra in an "air faerie" dress armed with a big sword... No, that didn't work!

"I guess you're right. I do have a dagger, though. I hope it won't be necessary! So...if you're ready, I guess we should head on out."

"I'm more nervous about Jazan and Eselde being there," Hanso muttered as he grabbed Brynn's hand and they left to go to the dining hall. Since nothing had happened over lunch, he wasn't sure that Ileana's revision to Eselde's dislikes list had taken effect, but since Eselde had barely eaten lunch at all, perhaps the poogle had just been lucky.

Brynn squeezed his hand. "Don't worry about it. Jazan is usually pretty civil to you in public."

"And Eselde?"

"...I think she will be, too. You must have tired her out with all the talking and arguing you two did today."

"I hope so!"

Upon entering the dining hall, they were shown to a table near the end of the room, right next to the raised table where Queen Fyora and Jazan and Nabile were already sitting. Hanso was certain that he could feel Jazan's eyes on him, but he did his best to ignore that and instead focused on trying to find Eselde in the crowd. However, it didn't appear that she was here yet.

The hall was lavishly decorated, much nicer than normal. Hanso was used to the stone walls being bare, but right now, they were covered with brilliant tapestries depicting a variety of faeries. (He figured that some main purpose of some of the tapestries was to hide the cracks in the walls.) The tables were covered, some with pink and grey cloths, and others with pinkish-purple and green. Each table had a big vase of flowers in the middle, though the table where Fyora and her guests of honour sat had cloths with _gold_ trim and multiple crystal vases in the centre.

The fire faerie sitting on the other side of Brynn immediately struck up a conversation with her, but there was no one on the other side of Hanso, so he watched in silence as others entered and were escorted to their seats. He eventually spied Eselde, dressed in a fine purple evening gown, entering with a small group of fellow guards. They were seated at the next table, and Hanso had a good view of her. Perfect! If she was served olives or something else she hated, Hanso would get a clear view of her reaction! Sure, it wouldn't be anything compared to the time he'd salted the coffee in Qasala, but at least he'd be able to get a little laugh from this.

Once most of the guests were seated, Fyora and Jazan went into this long, formal speech about how grateful everyone in Faerieland was for the support that the residents of the Lost Desert had provided them since Faerieland's fall (which wasn't much, as far as Hanso knew, but of course he knew to keep his mouth shut), and promised to work for further peace between their nations, and blah blah blah... Hanso tuned out, then noticed that the food was beginning to be served. He perked up when he realized that Ileana was helping to pass out the salad course. She happened to look in his direction and gave him a big grin and a slight nod, though she quickly turned her attention back to her task.

And then, when Jazan was finishing up a speech about...something, it happened.

There was a bloodcurdling shriek as Eselde suddenly bolted up from her chair and stared down at the salad that Ileana had just served her. "What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, turning to Ileana with her fists clenched. Hanso cringed; he really hoped Eselde didn't hit her.

"Of what?" Ileana asked. Her voice was perfectly even, but she looked a little frightened.

"This salad! It has those _black eyeballs_! You know I hate them! Where's your mother? She's got some explaining to do!" Eselde poked at the salad with her fork. "And why does it smell fishy? Salads are _not_ supposed to smell fishy!"

Ileana glanced over at Hanso, who gave her an encouraging nod, and then turned back to Eselde. "It's a special sauce made with vinegar and a little bit of fish oil,'" she said sweetly. "I'm sorry if you don't like it, but it's a staple of Altadorian food, and it's not very fishy."

Unfortunately, the irritatingly observant Eselde had noticed that brief glance between Hanso and Ileana, and immediately came to the right conclusion. "You...no! You're as bad as he is!" She shook her fist at Ileana and then glared at Hanso. "What is wrong with you?"

"Why, Eselde, honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about," Hanso said, as calmly as he could manage, leaning back in his chair and trying to feel as relaxed as possible, though he was still a little nervous for Ileana's sake. He was unable to wipe the grin from his face. "Come on, they just made a little mistake in the kitchen. Why make such a big deal about it?"

Next to him, Brynn groaned and hid her face in her hands.

"Oh yeah? Well, why don't you try this?" In a flash, Eselde grabbed her plate and hurled it at Hanso, though her aim was a little off and she hit a Qasalan skeith guard sitting at her own table instead.

Hanso froze as he waited to see what would happen next. He clearly wouldn't need to humiliate Eselde in public; she had just proved she was perfectly capable of doing that herself! There was utter silence in the dining hall for a few moments, as the skeith looked down at his gold and white robes, which were now covered with salad greens, crumbly cheese, olives and onions all in a slightly fishy, vinegar-y sauce.

And then the skeith, who clearly was _not_ one of the brightest citizens Qasala had to offer, suddenly grinned and threw his own salad at Eselde. His aim was _much_ better.

Ileana began to giggle, and then a few others near her joined her in laughter. Eselde, trembling with rage and spouting all sorts of hateful things, tossed her pomegranate juice in Ileana's face. Then someone else threw a large piece of jelly at Eselde, and Ileana darted away while Eselde whirled around to find out who had hit her that second time and grabbed her neighbour's salad in the process. Then, before anyone realized it, a full-fledged food fight had begun!

Hanso was more than happy to join in, since it meant that he not only had a good chance of completely ruining his suit, but he also might get a chance to hit both Eselde _and_ Jazan with something! Unfortunately, Brynn literally dragged him from the dining hall before he had the chance to hurl something at Jazan, though he _did_ manage to hit Eselde square in the face with some lime jelly as they were leaving. It got smooshed into her curly purple hair, and Hanso honestly hoped that it would take her all night to wash it out!

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4: Uneasy Truce

And now, the conclusion. Poor Hanso. No one understands him, but, of course, everyone loves him. Except Jazan, maybe. But I tried to add a bit of, uh...closure with their interaction, I guess? I'm not sure how to word it. I honestly could not think of a chapter name and it's midnight here, so I just entered a two-word description for what happens and left it at that.

I have actually _dreaded_ the moment when I'd have to actually have Jazan get involved _directly_ in a story, because I have a lot of difficulty grasping his personality and speech style. He likes to sound...educated, I guess? Wordy? He just likes to hear himself speak? I'm not entirely sure. He's clearly sarcastic and snarky, which is usually a character type I'm comfortable with, but for some reason, he just eludes me. I'm sure that's just part of his plan to, uh...um...I'm not sure, actually.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Uneasy Truce**

* * *

"Hanso, what in Neopia is your _problem?"_ Brynn demanded to know once they were safely out of the dining hall. She had somehow managed to avoid being hit with anything and still looked as pretty as ever, save for the fact that she looked like she was about to murder him. "This is even more embarrassing that the coffee incident!"

"Sweetheart, I didn't start this," Hanso protested. Someone had managed to hit him in the upper chest with a salad, so both his suit and his hair now had bits of vegetables and cheese stuck to them, and he smelled of salad dressing. "Well, it was...kind of mine _and_ Ileana's idea, really, but Eselde made the decision to start the food fight! You can't blame me for that!"

"You _and_ Ileana? Honestly, Hanso...!"

She trailed off, and Hanso waited for her to continue, but she didn't. "I what?" he asked.

"I don't know!" Brynn shook her head. "I just...I can't believe you!"

"Are you jealous?" he teased.

Brynn growled and kicked him in the shin. Thankfully, she wasn't wearing her boots; otherwise, that _really_ would have hurt. "Don't you _dare_ joke like that, Hanso! Ileana's just a child!"

"Ow! I know, I know, I was just being silly," Hanso said, hopping on one foot for a moment until the pain had subsided. "You're kind of touchy, aren't you?"

"...It's been a long day," Brynn said with a sigh. "You really_ are_ corrupting Neopia's youth, you know."

"Nooo, I think it's just ixi nature to be mischievous," he argued. "Ileana gets it. She's a smart little ixi."

"I beg to differ, thief. You are a despicable influence on the youth of our planet."

Hanso and Brynn turned to see than Jazan had joined them. Hanso felt a dread unlike anything he'd felt in a long time; he hadn't spoken personally with Jazan in ages, and had hoped that Jazan was still involved in the food fight. Of course, he wasn't actually_ afraid_ of the kyrii, but he wasn't really too keen on the possibility of getting blasted with powerful magic, and right now, Jazan didn't look to be pleased or amused in the least bit. He was also perfectly clean, meaning that _no one_ had taken the opportunity to ruin his royal robes. What a shame!

"Honestly, Eselde had it coming to her!" Hanso exclaimed, dramatically throwing up his arms and overwhelmed with frustration since it was clear that neither Brynn nor Jazan could see his point of view. Why couldn't they? "How does she still work here? She publicly humiliated Brynn a few days ago and _got away with it_! Ileana told me that her mother keeps a record of everyone's likes and dislikes, and she just edited Eselde's entry and then made sure Eselde got some food that she hates. That's it! I didn't expect Eselde to react like that, but now _everyone_ knows how unstable she is, right?"

"Hanso, that still doesn't make it right," Brynn argued. "Eselde is good at her job—"

"I don't care! I hate the way she treats you!"

"You don't need to interfere! I _can_ take care of myself!"

"Oh, really? So why'd you insist that I stick with you while you were on duty today, huh?"

"She humiliated you in public?" Jazan asked Brynn.

"Yes, she found out I didn't like squibble berries, and made a big show of trying to make me cut some open," Brynn said. "It was so stupid, but...I refused, and she won't let me live it down."

"I, uh...wasn't _intending_ to do anything," Hanso continued. "But Ileana helped me come up with the idea, and we thought it was too good to pass up. Nearly _everyone_ hates Eselde, so we just wanted her to get a taste of her own medicine by making sure she was served something she didn't like. But I never expected her to react like that! In fact, I'd like to go in there and see it to the end, if you don't mind!"

Hanso turned and began to step away, but Brynn grabbed his arm before he could go anywhere.

"No, you are _not_ going in there," she snapped. "Haven't you had enough excitement for today?"

"Clearly not!"

"I must hand it to you, thief, you know how to stage a memorable public humiliation," Jazan said. "I am sure that no one will soon forget this."

"Yeah, I hope so. I'd rather everyone talk about _this_ instead of the squibble berry incident!" Hanso glanced at Brynn, who still had his arm in a tight grasp to keep him from getting away. It kind of reminded him of the days when she would arrest him... "Brynn didn't deserve that at all."

Jazan nodded, then added, "By the way, thief, I am aware that you recently stole a scroll from my library."

Hanso cringed. "Yeah, Queen Fyora—"

"All you had to do was ask me," he went on. "But you managed to break into a room that I thought was thief-proof, which was a most impressive feat. I don't like you, but you clearly have an exceptional talent for thievery. I just... I mean, Nabile wants me to tell you that we forgive you for that."

"Really?" Hanso first looked at Brynn, who was staring at Jazan in astonishment (and finally released her deathgrip on Hanso's arm), and then and then turned his gaze to Jazan, half expecting the king to say he was joking. However, Jazan nodded an affirmative.

"To be honest," Jazan added, "When I realized you were snooping around the library, I expected you to take the scroll sooner than you did."

"Brynn didn't want me to take it," Hanso explained. "I just waited out of respect for her!"

"And I remember you saying for a while that you weren't completely sure which scroll was the right one," Brynn muttered. "Once Hanso figured it out, nothing would stop him from stealing it. I couldn't do anything."

"The scroll is safer in Fyora's hands," Jazan continued. "I forgive you for taking it...but I am afraid I cannot forgive you for ruining the coffee."

"Ahahaha...well..." Hanso rubbed the back of his neck, his face a little flushed, "You know I'm allergic to angelpi, right?"

"I am aware of that."

"And you got an angelpuss because you knew that and wanted to make me miserable, right? So we're even as far as I'm concerned."

Brynn muttered something that Hanso couldn't understand, though he was certain it wasn't good.

"...I suppose that may be the case," Jazan admitted after a few moments. He looked at Brynn. "Does he pull practical jokes very often?"

"Not really," Brynn answered. "But when he does, they're memorable. He's a good guy, honestly! I just..." she turned to Hanso, "I just don't understand what goes through that brain of his sometimes."

"I'm far too complicated for anyone to understand, sweetie," he said proudly.

"If you'll excuse us, your majesty... Hanso, let's go get some sandwiches from the kitchen and eat in our quarters, okay?" Brynn suggested. "I'm hungry and tired, and you really need to change!"

"Just the two of us? Sure, that sounds good to me!"

"Hmm, I would like to ask Nabile the same thing," Jazan said. "I should find her... By the way, thief, I do have one thing I to ask of you."

"What's that? And could you please stop calling me 'thief' or 'ixi'?" Hanso asked. "I mean, I might kinda sorta still be a thief, and I'm definitely an ixi, but I do have a _name,_ you know!"

"...Hanso," Jazan corrected himself. "I will call you that only if you put my proper title of 'King' before my name."

Hanso thought about that for a moment. "...Deal," he finally said. "_King_ Jazan."

"That's much better. I ask that you refrain from pulling any more pranks on us—or, on me or my wife, in particular."

"To be honest, I've got nothing against Na-Queen Nabile. But, for you, promise to keep that stupid angelpuss from me, and we've got a deal," Hanso said.

Jazan...er, _King_ Jazan nodded. "That is acceptable. I don't know whether you will be coming to Qasala soon, but if you do, we will keep the angelpuss away from where you stay."

"Great!" Hanso looked back at Brynn. "Sooo...sandwiches? Or, maybe you'd like to cook, perhaps?"

"You're kidding, right? I don't think anything I'd cook would actually be _edible,_" Brynn said. "Come on, let's go get some sandwiches!" She grabbed Hanso's hand and nearly dragged him away, while Jazan wandered off to find Nabile.

* * *

The food fight had one immediate effect: the next day, Eselde was nowhere to be found.

"She got suspended," Brynn said once her shift was over and she met Hanso in their usual place by the castle's entrance. "Not fired, mind you, just suspended. Her commanding officer, Alvar, told her she would be off duty for an entire month!"

"Well, I hope she learned a lesson," Hanso said.

"And, uh...Queen Fyora said she has a new mission for us and wants us to leave within the next couple of days."

"Ooh, excellent!" Hanso rubbed his hands together. "Where are we going?"

"Shenkuu."

"Really? We were just there a couple of months ago..."

"Yes, well, the queen has done a lot of thinking, and decided that we should collect any remnants of the Clockwork Negg _and_ pick up anything that may have been with Rutu, provided there's still anything there," Brynn explained. "The residents of Shenkuu finally gave her a proper burial, but some of her belongings might still be there, and may be useful to us. And the negg shouldn't be dangerous anymore, but just in case..."

"Gotcha. Well, this doesn't sound like too bad of a mission," Hanso said.

"She's asked Captain Tuan and his crew to take us there on their way home."

"The Cyodrake's Gaze? They're in town?"

"They were delivering supplies. So as soon as we're ready, we'll all leave."

Hanso had had bad run-ins with some members of the crew, but most were all right, and they'd apparently forgiven him for any...past mishaps. "Okay. That's not too bad. That's a pretty easy mission compared to most of the other stuff we've had to do!"

Brynn nodded. "It's tough to get around in Shenkuu, but overall, this should be a simple mission and probably won't take too much time. So, maybe..."

Hanso's ears perked up. "Yeeees?"

Brynn managed a shy, adorable smile. "Maybe, just maybe, we could get a little vacation of some sort in, too? I've never done much sightseeing around Shenkuu..."

"You, suggesting a vacation?" Hanso pretended to be shocked, though he was actually almost bouncy with joy. Of course, he had to keep his cool, lest Brynn came to the conclusion that he was crazier than he already was. "I thought I'd never see the day!"

"I guess I'm a little tired out from everything that's happened recently," Brynn admitted. "And I love Shenkuu. It's a beautiful place."

"Sure. So we get the negg and whatever else is there, and then have a nice, relaxing vacation in Shenkuu. Sounds great to me!"

Brynn nodded. "I don't think anything could possibly go wrong there!"

"...Don't say that. You'll jinx it."

"Oh, come on, don't tell me you believe in that stuff," Brynn said. "Let's just get packing so we can leave! I'm ready for a break!"

**The End.**

* * *

I am planning a sequel, but it probably won't appear for a month or two, or maybe more, since it's still in the early planning stages _and_ I intend to be very busy in June with the Altador Cup. (Go, Shenkuu!) My writing will probably be limited to coming up with captions for the caption competition, hehe. (I've had a LOT of luck with that lately!)

I'm open to ideas about what they should do in Shenkuu. I have a basic plan, but filling in the little details is the biggest challenge. If anyone has any suggestions, send me a PM!


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